Posted on 01/23/2019 11:02:12 AM PST by Red Badger
CARACAS - Buoyed by a telegenic new congressional chief, Venezuela’s opposition is daring to hope that President Nicolas Maduro’s days in office could be numbered, but the unpopular leader’s bedrock base - the armed forces - shows few signs of erosion.
Opposition sympathizers, rallying around opposition leader Juan Guaido, are holding open air town-hall meetings that buzz with excitement about the legislature’s recent challenges to the legitimacy of Maduro, who this month began a new term widely slammed as illegitimate.
Bolstered by the United States and numerous Latin American neighbors promising to back the opposition in seeking a transition, the Guaido-led congress last week declared Maduro a “usurper” and asked foreign governments to freeze bank accounts controlled by his government.
But with the legislature stripped of its powers by a pro-government Supreme Court and few signs that the military high command is prepared to abandon Maduro, the spring in the opposition’s step and investor exuberance it has sparked may prove premature.
“The military leadership is faithful to Maduro and will continue to be until he’s gone,” said one active duty high-ranking military officer, who asked not to be identified.
An attack on a Caracas military output by two dozen low-ranking National Guard officers on Monday morning sparked opposition hopes of an uprising, but the incident was snuffed out quickly.
“A sergeant at a National Guard outpost is not to me important, what would be important is a situation like that in a major unit or a battalion,” said Rocio San Miguel, a military expert with non-profit group Citizen Control.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Give a Venezuelan a fish, and he eats for a day.
Give a Venezuelan an automatic rifle, and he can kill the communist bastards that are starving his family and country.
:: The military leadership is faithful to Maduro and will continue to be until he’s gone ::
Because we are the only Venezuelans that get 3 good meals everyday.
I think the Iraqi military leadership said the same thing about Saddam for a while.
There are thousands of Cubans throughout the Maduro government. This is going to go down hard if Maduro is to be removed.
Hitler’s military was very reluctant to abandon him. Those that tried, include Rommel, paid for it with their lives.
Unless Maduro bails to a friendly nation, such as Cuba, the country is still toast unless there is outside military intervention in which his military would fold like a cheap suit.
In my opinion the citizenry is not worth it as they’d elect themselves right back into another socialist nightmare.
Like Nicaragua..............
is that like Obama’s embedded muslim-marxists?
is that why the presidency is faced with day to day challenges?
“Give a Venezuelan an automatic rifle, and he can kill the communist bastards that are starving his family and country.”
They need to get people to the borders and airports to stop the commies from fleeing.
“The military leadership is faithful to Maduro and will continue to be until he’s gone”
And so when Maduro is finally gone, the next step will be to arrest the senior military leaders who propped up Maduro, try them, and execute them in public.
“Another success story from a Democratically controlled city.”
That is true “until it isn’t”. A minor event. A local riot that doesn’t get put down. A murder caught on video that inflames the situation. You never know. All it takes is one military unit led by a few key officers & NCO’s to say “No”.
Then you target the military and their families.
“Give a Venezuelan an automatic rifle, and he can kill the communist bastards that are starving his family and country.”
How would that be any different that what we did in Libya?
I’m no saying it’s wrong per se, just that I don’t want the US to pay to clean up the mess. Or spill any US blood.
Brazil and Columbia can handle this one. Easily. And they both share a border with the target.
Thanks Red Badger. It'll be some more tough sledding in Venezuela until the military's CYA "don't worry, we support you, President Maduro" transitions to "the enemy of the people has been arrested and executed."
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